Cards sweep Pirates, 3-1

May 24, 2007

ST. LOUIS - Braden Looper won for the third time in four starts and Yadier Molina extended his hitting streak to 15 games, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 on Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.

Both of the Cardinals' sweeps this season have come against the Pirates, the other on the road in April. Before the series, the defending World Series champions had lost five in a row and were nine games below .500.

Jose Bautista's homer ended a 41-inning long ball drought for the Pirates, who have lost five in a row and seven of nine.

Looper (6-3) allowed only two other hits in six innings. He had thrown 21 2-3 consecutive scoreless innings against the Pirates before Bautista's homer, and is 5-0 with a 1.41 ERA in five day starts.

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Pirates starter Tom Gorzelanny (5-3) bruised his left thumb deflecting Aaron Miles' smash up the middle with one out in the sixth, an infield hit that loaded the bases. Gorzelanny was removed from the game after 118 pitches. X-rays were negative and the left-hander is not expected to miss a turn in the rotation.

Gorzelanny, who limited the Cardinals to one run in 15 1-3 innings in two April starts, gave up two runs on 10 hits.

The Cardinals scored two runs on five hits in the second, missing a chance for more when Scott Rolen was an easy out going for a leadoff double and David Eckstein hit a two-out ground-rule double that would have easily scored Miles from first.

The big hits came from the bottom of the order with Molina's RBI double, the third straight hit in the inning, giving the Cardinals the lead. Miles followed with a run-scoring bloop single.

Gorzelanny escaped a bases-loaded situation in the fourth on singles by So Taguchi and Miles and a walk to Looper, striking out Eckstein for the third out.

Bautista cut the deficit in half when he led off the sixth with his third homer, a drive on a 2-1 pitch that barely cleared the wall in left.

Jason Isringhausen, St. Louis' fifth pitcher, worked a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances. He's 24 for 26 for his career against the Pirates.

Notes: The Cardinals are 39-17 against the Pirates the last four seasons. … St. Louis has eight homers in May, worst in the majors. Pittsburgh has 12 this month, entering the game next to last. … St. Louis pitchers hit three batters in a span of six at-bats in the seventh, and reliever Tyler Johnson hit two of the three batters he faced, departing after plunking Chris Duffy to start the eighth.